She Got Inked
“Not I,” said the little brown fox. My big sis. On Saturday morning I had a picture of a tattoo waiting for me in my cell phone’s inbox. Wow! My sister got a tattoo.
Now, I must preface this post with the following disclaimer: my sister is, and has always been, one of the coolest people I know. So my opinion of her addition may be a little biased.
For years growing up, I wanted to be her. through my five-years-younger-than-she-is eyes, she’s always had this sense of style, humor, and approach to life. Not to say her life has ever been or is now perfect; trust me, she’s had her fair share of struggles and challenges to overcome. Still does. That’s part of being human.
But still, she’s my big sis. And as cool as she is, I never imagined she’d get a tattoo. I’m the one who married the inked, motorcycle riding sailor. If either of us was going to get one, I for sure figured it would have been me. I’m still in the wanna-get-inked-someday club. Aside from the cost, pain, and permanence of said body art, the practical part of me has taken over every time the opportunity has presented itself. Not to mention I’m too indecisive of which symbol(s) to have etched into my body. I’m not the type to go into the studio and pick a design off the wall. Nope, mine has to be original, and must encompass all that I believe and love. The problem is, somewhere inside I’m not sure if what I believe now is what I will believe in another 20 years and then what?
That’s code language for “what do I actually believe?”
But then my sister gets a tattoo. My sister, who has traveled on more airplanes in the last 6 months to L.A. to visit her one-day-world-famous-son than I think she has in her entire life. My sister, who beautifully (although painfully) let said son go across the country by himself in the first place (how brave is THAT?). My sister who faces whatever challenges life (or idiots) throw in front of her with grace and dignity.
Yep, I still wanna be just like my big sister. I’m going to follow her lead and ask my Auntie N to design something for me too. Let’s make it a family affair, shall we?
And I’m going to get my tattoo for as a Mother’s Day gift to myself.
Because I want to be just like my big sister… who stands proudly and embraces who she is, inside and out.
I traveled with my sister to Santa Barbara CA so she could get her first tattoo that she had carefully designed. She picked this artis because of her experience with celtic designs and because she liked her vibe. It was a very cool experience to watch her do that. I am still, as her tattoo artist called me, a blank! But you got me thinkin’ Susan!
It’s interesting. I like the idea of body painting (and I have periodically given myself temporary tattoos with sharpies) but I just can’t commit to a particular design (or tolerate the pain of getting one burned onto a non-sagging part of my body).
I’m ready to get inked, just haven’t done it yet. My daughter has 5 or 6 tattoos already. I’ve seen the work she’s had done at two local places. I know which artist I’d want to have do it. Just have to get over to Waldorf with my design and some money…
What was the one-day-world-famous thing your nephew did?
Ok – crying now… I love you more than you’ll ever know Little Sis and I say GO FOR IT with the tattoo! But if you don’t have a design in mind – don’t rush it. It will eventually come to you and be perfect. I absolutely LOVE my tattoo and I love what it represents even more!